Xavier is one of several local community groups that worked together to sponsor the exhibit | November 16, 2012

Xavier joins several local community organizations, including The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, to bring the "Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Ancient Times" to the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Opening Nov. 16, the exhibit features the most comprehensive collection of ancient artifacts from Israel ever organized, including one of the largest collections of the priceless 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls displayed in North America. It was created by the Israel Antiquities Authority from collections of the Israel National Treasures and produced by Discovery Times Square and The Franklin Institute.

“The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit allows our students and faculty a unique opportunity to integrate these historic texts into our course offerings,” says Rabbi Abie Ingber, director of Xavier's Center for Interfaith Community Engagement and Xavier's representative to the exhibit’s program advisory committee. “Plans are being made throughout our campus for classes and student groups to visit the exhibit and experience the relevance of these historic Biblical texts.”

The Scrolls were discovered and unearthed in caves on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea from 1947-1956. Considered among the world’s greatest archaeological discoveries, the Scrolls contain the oldest known copies of the Hebrew Bible. Of the more than 600 objects from the Biblical to Byzantine Period in Israel, many objects are from recent archaeological excavations in Jerusalem and have never been exhibited publicly. Objects include remains of religious articles, fragments of the Scrolls, weapons of war, stone carvings, textiles and mosaics alongside everyday items such as jewelry and ceramics. In addition, the exhibit features a scale recreation of a section of Jerusalem’s Western Wall with a real three-ton stone from the Wall in Israel.

Cincinnati’s unique part in the story of the Dead Sea Scrolls is being highlighted in the exhibit. Hebrew Union College and its former president Nelson Glueck played an important role in efforts to recover some of the Scrolls from antiquities dealers and to authenticate them, and in early academic debate about the significance and dating of the scrolls and participation in scholarly efforts surrounding the scrolls.